Village Board of Trustees Meeting

Minutes of the Regular Meeting of the Village of Nyack Board of Trustees Held at Village Hall at 7:30 pm on Thursday, February 13, 2025 Present: Joseph Rand, Mayor Pascale Jean-Gilles, Trustee Joseph Carlin, Trustee Nathalie Riobe-Taylor, Trustee Also Present: Andrew Stewart, Village Administrator Dennis Michaels, Village Attorney Linda Donnelly, Village Clerk Absent: Donna Lightfoot-Cooper, Trustee Meeting called to order at 7:30 pm Pledge of Allegiance Mayor’s Introduction Thank you to the DPW for the wonderful job keeping the roadways clear during the past storm; thank you to the residents for keeping their cars from the snow emergency areas; thank you to the Fire Dept. Chiefs on meeting with Village Administrator, Chief Building Inspector and myself concerning better coordination with the village on prioritizing and enhancing public safety issues; thank you to Thomas Schneck, Visit Nyack, for the tremendous work he does. PRESENTATIONS COMMENTS FROM THE VILLAGE BOARD Trustee Carlin – Met with Marcy Denker and the Tree Committee and made changes to the tree layout to maximize space on the great lawn in Memorial Park; met with Keep Rockland Beautiful for community cleanup. Will bring resolution with time and location and will be asking for volunteers. Trustee Jean-Gilles – Thank you to the Nyack Center for the wonderful event last Saturday; upcoming events this summer for the kids; application forthcoming for basketball event. Mayor Rand – Cannabis dispensaries cannot be within 2,000 ft of one another. Starbucks medical dispensary eliminates any other dispensary within the downtown area. Any other business selling is illegal and a police matter. Concern over smoking within the street could be a possibility. Village does have smoking laws and will enforce. Page 1 of 8 PUBLIC COMMENT Sonya – Proposal for 5th annual basketball tournament, August 9th & 10th and rain dates of August 16th and 17th. Village Board will approve at next meeting Dominick Pilla – Would suggest Village make stricter guidelines for dispensary locations. Mike Hasan – Would like the Board to consider the location of medical dispensary. Yelena Graves – Village has power to have stricter guidelines and consider regulating the places and manner in which they operate. Chaya Pilla – Uncomfortable with dispensary and would like zoning changed. Nyack looks so bad. Doesn’t feel safe. Peter Vermosen – Empty stores all over. Dispensary doesn’t add to a community on its downswing. Robin Donahue – Wrong location for dispensaries. Sending the wrong message being on Main St. Kelly Colquitt – A dispensary next to Toriello’s shouldn’t happen. Town looks like Pottersville. Need to consider what is good for the community. Mary McGovern – Horrified hearing about dispensary. Parents are also horrified. Does nothing to enhance downtown. Kirk Theofanides – Does public safety officer have ability to arrest? What did Orangetown Police say about activity at Card Shop? Is there power to change zoning for cannabis shop in town? Mayor Rand – Not a police role. Will handle lower-level code violations, and eyes and ears on the street. No ability to change/regulate medical dispensaries. Administrator Stewart – Focus is around open containers. Police are careful to describe nature of law enforcement role – loitering/panhandling not a crime – will look for drug dealing, open containers and harassment. Residents who feel unsafe should call the police. Met with the Card Shop owner and asked them to remove vestibule. Unknown – Establish what the people/residents want Trustee Carlin – If on the Board at the time, probably would’ve voted against opting in. Now being the law, we honor the decisions of the previous boards. Trustee Jean-Gilles – Medical dispensary is allowed to treat patients whether we might have opted in or not; have zero ability to regulate. PUBLIC HEARINGS ADOPTION OF MINUTES –01/30/25 On motion of Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles. The minutes of the meeting held on 01/30/2025 were accepted as presented. Page 2 of 8 ACTION ITEMS RESOLUTION NO. 2025-12 – ACCEPTING AUDITED VOUCHER SUMMARY The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles. WHEREAS, the Audited Voucher Summary was presented to the Nyack Village Board of Trustees at its regularly scheduled meeting of February 13, 2025. RESOLVED, the Village Board hereby approves the General Fund Claims set forth on pages 1 through 14 in the amounts of GENERAL FUND $323,241.39 PARKING AUTHORITY $ 22,365.69 WATER FUND $ 23,732.34 CAPITAL FUND $ 10,011.33 On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes RESOLUTION NO. 2025-13 – APPROVE GRANTS UNDER THE NYACK TOURISM GRANT PROGRAM The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles. WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees, in recognition of the importance of tourism to local economic development, recently adopted a local law providing for a Hotel Bed Tax in order to fund tourism promotion projects, intends to allocate 50% of this tax revenue, minus an administrative cost of 8%, to tourism promotion projects, and WHEREAS, the Board of Trustees delegated to the Nyack Business Council the responsibility to advise the Board of Trustees on funding decisions in response to applications for Nyack Tourism Grants, and contracted with Visit Nyack to administer the grant program on behalf of the Village, and the Business Council has received, reviewed and discussed applications, including presentations by applicants to the Business Council; therefore RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack allocates $51,000 in funds for the current round of the Nyack Tourism Grant program, and Page 3 of 8  RESOLVED, based on advice and recommendation from the Nyack Business Council, the Board of Trustees approves the following grants for tourism promotion projects, and directs the Village Administrator to execute all necessary agreements, subject to the review of the Village Attorney, to fund these projects, with any unused grant funds rolled into the next round of the grant program: 1. Arts Rock Events $4,000 2. Carolyn Doyle – Social Dance Parties $1,000 3. Ecstatic Dance Events $2,450 4. Edward Hopper House – Plein Air Festival $3,500 5. Elmwood Playhouse $2,400 6. Historical Society – Historic House Tour $5,000 7. Laura Graham – Second Hand Shop Hop $1,200 8. Maragon Management/Hippie Dippie Threads – Wellness Event $1,000 9. Maureen’s Jazz Cellar $4,000 10. Modern Druid – Spirit of South Broadway $2,000 11. Music for Life – Night Out $1,500 12. Nyack International Film Festival $5,000 13. Nyack Art Collective – First Fridays $1,800 14. Nyack Library – Nyack BIPOC Business Event $2,000 15. Phoenix Theater Ensemble – Phoenix Festival $5,000 16. Rockland Jazz and Blues Society – Nyack Jazz Week $2,000 17. Rockland Pride Center – Various Events $2,000 18. The Angel Nyack – Ukuleles on the Hudson $2,000 19. Trade and Prosper – Nyack Village Craft Walk $2,500 TOTAL $50,350 Thomas Schneck – 4th round; program working extremely well; bringing people to Nyack and returning tourists; appreciate the support of the Village Board. Trustee Carlin – Want to see a presentation. I would like to understand what we are agreeing to and time to review. Mayor Rand – Can do presentation at next meeting. I assure you that there has been a complete review. Adjustments can be made at a later date. Trustee Jean-Gilles – I agree with Trustee Carlin. A presentation was given last time. I do like to have an idea of what events are happening. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes NOTE: Conditionally approved pending a presentation of all selections, with Village Board input. Page 4 of 8 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-14 – APPROVE 23RD ANNUAL “A DAY IN THE LIFE OF THE HUDSON” EVENT IN MEMORIAL PARK ON OCTOBER 15, 2025 The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles WHEREAS, the 23rd Annual “River Day” is a science activity for Nyack School District students recognized as advancing NYS science school science curriculum standards and core curriculum that uniquely requires direct access to the Hudson River waterfront for gathering scientific data on water quality and wildlife; this event achieves the rigor involved in taking data, analyzing it, and deriving conclusions, while solidifying their relationship with the ecosystems within their own backyard, instilling in them the desire to be good stewards of their town, RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees approves “River Day” permit for Memorial Park for an event on October 15, 2025 (rain date: 10/16/25), subject to sufficient insurance indemnification and the Letter of Agreement attached to the permit. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes RESOLUTION NO. 2025-15 – APPROVE A PERMIT APPLICATION FOR AN EVENT IN MEMORIAL PARK AND HEZEKIAH EASTER VETERANS MEMORIAL SQUARE BY LOUISE NEWSOME ON OCTOBER 4 AND OCTOBER 5, 2025 The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves an application for the use of the Upper Lawn of Memorial Park and Hezekiah Easter Veterans Memorial Square by Louise Newsome on October 4 and October 5, 2025, for a craft vendor market. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes Page 5 of 8 RESOLUTION NO. 2025-16 – APPROVE HANDICAP PARKING SPACE ON S. FRANKLIN STREET The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves an application for a handicap parking space on S. Franklin St., in front of the Pavion apartment building. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . .. . . Yes RESOLUTION NO. 2025-17 – APPROVE A PERMIT APPLICATION FOR AN EVENT IN NYACK MARINA BY JENNA NAZERIO, ROCKLAND COUNTY DIRECTOR OF ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, OCTOBER 9-11, 2025 The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Carlin RESOLVED, the Board of Trustees of the Village of Nyack approves an application for the use of the Marina parking lot, by Jenna Nazerio, Rockland County Director of Economic Development, October 9-11, 2025, for the Tunnel to Towers mobile exhibit. Mayor Rand – Thank you to Ann Marie Tlsty and Jenna Nazerio for the hard work in putting this together. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes RESOLUTION NO. 2025-18 – CONSENT TO PLANNING BOARD LEAD AGENCY STATUS CONCERNING 80 S. BROADWAY PROJECT The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Carlin RESOLVED, the Village Board of Trustees hereby consents to the Village Planning Board acting as the Lead Agency under the State Environmental Quality Review Act (SEQRA), regarding the SEQRA Coordinated Review of the land use development project located at Murray‘s Deli and Gas Station, 80 South Broadway. Page 6 of 8  Village Attorney Michaels – Encourage applicant to present for preliminary review, although not setup for a public hearing, to give feedback. Dominick Pilla – Why can’t Village Board make conditional approval so we can move forward with some idea in order to prove out engineering? On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes RESOLUTION NO. 2025-19 – CREATE A THIRD PARKING ENFORCEMENT AID FULL-TIME POSITION The following resolution was offered by Trustee Riobe-Taylor, seconded by Trustee Jean-Gilles RESOLVED, the Nyack Village Board of Trustees approves the creation of a third full- time Parking Enforcement Aid position within the Rockland County Civil Service title inventory for Nyack. On roll call the vote was as follows: Trustee Jean-Gilles . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Riobe-Taylor . . . . Yes Trustee Lightfoot-Cooper . . Absent Mayor Rand . . . . . . . . . . . Yes Trustee Carlin. . . . . . . . . . . Yes DEPARTMENT REPORTS (based on availability) Orangetown Police Department – Open containers/safety with regard to Card Shop; unarmed safety patrol for downtown and park areas, potential applicant, provide more sense of safety for residents/visitors, police dept agreed to assist; enforce curfew in parks; coordinate with outreach, making referrals to various agencies Village Attorney – Village Administrator – In process of formalizing committee for shoreline path and service agreements with Brooker Engineering and landscape architect Daniel Biggs; Community Development Block Grant committee met, active participation and exciting ideas to propose to the County for funding, Board will get a report and decide which project to submit for funding; climate change adaptation planning process moving forward, survey for public to answer questions about what people are observing, follow-up meeting March 24th, 7:00 pm, Nyack Center; budget process Page 7 of 8 beginning, think about scheduling budget meetings Trustee Carlin – Would like a list of current projects and funding. Village Clerk – OLD BUSINESS NEW BUSINESS Independence Day Fireworks Looking to keep on the water; cost going up significantly; looking for sponsorship Need to enforce smoke free park during event Preliminary verbal approval for contract with fireworks vendor from Village Board 9/11 Memorial Placement along new path on waterfront; design for those lost to 9/11 and 9/11 related illnesses Public Safety officer vehicle Looking for something inexpensive for short trips Local ID cards Create IDs for local Nyack residents and for employees COMMUNICATIONS James Dawson-Hollis – Strongly opposes a dispensary at 45 Main Street Nyack Fire Dept – Multiple false alarms, offenders should be fined heavily Mayor Rand – Very greatly for our volunteers Hudson Valley Mural Arts Great meeting, proposed wonderful process with community input Need a workshop for Village Board review EXECUTIVE SESSION ADJOURNMENT Motion offered by Trustee Jean-Gilles, seconded by Trustee Carlin. Motion carried unanimously. VILLAGE CLERK Page 8 of 8